Ateneo not too concerned after loss to NU, says De Leon

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Ateneo middle blocker Bea De Leon said the first seeded Lady Eagles are not too concerned despite dropping thrilling five-setter against National University in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre.

De Leon said Ateneo can only learn from their mistakes after they absorbed a 17-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13 to the Lady Bulldogs, the only team who beat the Lady Eagles twice this season.

“There’s no big concern for us,” said De Leon who had 13 points in the loss. “Even though we lost to them again, it’s a good chance for us to improve and adjust and we can always bounce back.”

Ateneo had noticeable advantages in spikes, 48-43, and service aces, 20-9, but crucial errors in the fifth set eventually swung the favor to NU.

Jhoana Maraguinot, Ateneo’s leading scorer, ironically gave NU three of its last five points including the match winner when the outside hitter’s last attempt went out of bounds.

“I think it was more of us, we had a lot of errors on service and a lot of our spikes were going out,” said De Leon. “But it’s okay, the loss was more of our doing.”

Despite the loss, De Leon said the Lady Eagles’ morale is still on a high level and that their eight-game winning streak prior to the loss never entered their psyche.

“We were never after the winning streak, it was not our goal,” said De Leon. “Personally, I don’t take losses too much because you have to bounce back immediately and take things in a positive light.”